Completion of the Work of the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

The Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT PrepCom 2) ended its work in Geneva on May 9. Representatives from 106 states parties took part in its work, with about 70 nongovernmental organizations attending as observers.

Delegations' statements and the documents presented by them note the growing concern of the states parties over the situation surrounding the Treaty and over the general state of affairs in nonproliferation. Many states noted the necessity of looking for collective solutions to the new challenges and threats, of which the WMD-terrorism link is the chief one. A unifying point for all the delegations was that, despite all the shocks to the nonproliferation regime, the NPT operates and remains the pivotal element of the system of international security. It is important that no doubt should be cast on the necessity and possibility of solving problems that arise on the basis of the Treaty.

For Russia, this Treaty is an effective and much needed instrument whose value is borne out by decades of effort to reinforce the nuclear nonproliferation regime. Proceeding on this assumption, the Russian delegation vigorously pursued at the Conference its principled line on strengthening the NPT in every way and on combining efforts by all its parties to achieve this aim. The Russian delegation also backed up enhancing the role of the IAEA in performing control functions and in promoting peaceful nuclear cooperation, reported on Russia's nuclear disarmament efforts and held briefings on imparting a global character to the Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and on the International Uranium Enrichment Center in Angarsk. Special attention was drawn to the Russian initiative for developing a global nuclear energy infrastructure and for establishing international nuclear fuel-cycle centers.

On the basis of the discussions held at PrepCom 2, work should be continued together with all the NPT parties with a view to prepare a review of Treaty operations across its provisions in 2010 and to develop recommendations which would help consolidate the NPT and accomplish the tasks set forth in it.